• Sanyo treats its employees in a very negative way. The workers are harassed, pressured, and exposed to chemicals. The workers have nose bleeds due to the chemicals in the air they are breathing, and their clothes smell like burnt plastic when they leave. One worker even developed kidney problems because the workers are not allowed to drink water or go to the bathroom while working. When Sanyo decided to move to Indonesia for cheaper labor, they did not want to pay severance to the employees in Tijuana.
2) Explain how NAFTA influenced Tijuana, including how many maquiladoras were constructed in the area.
• NAFTA made Tijuana attractive and “fertile soil” for the construction of factories by allowing free trade to occur in North America. There were 4,000 maquiladoras constructed at the United …show more content…
There are pipes running from factories straight into rivers to carry the chemical waste. The pollution of the rivers has caused sickness, and sores on the people exposed. There are also chemicals being released through smoke stacks which pollute communities through the air. When it rains, the factories release the waste water and flood the streets of the villages with contaminated water.
4) What was Grupo Factor X? What do they do/offer? Why are women essentially “objects of labor”?
• Grupo Factor X is a group of women workers that want/advocate change. They serve as promotora’s (promote the law) and defend what rights are being violated. Women come in as students and then are able to teach others what they learn. Women are “objects of labor” because they are seen as commodities that have agile hands, are docile, and are cheap workers. When one woman or “commodity” stands up for their rights, they are fired and another “commodity” is found.
5) For the women who works full time and raises a family, describe her daily routine (including how much time she has to sleep each